FHSU Athletics
CLAREMORE, Okla. โ Fort Hays State picked up its first win in five tries at the Claremore Expo Center, defeating Rogers State 74-63 on Thursday evening. The big road win against a solid opponent pushed the Tigers to 13-4 overall and 6-2 in the MIAA, now alone in second place in the MIAA standings. Rogers State moved to 14-7 overall and 5-4 in the MIAA.
Just a little after the teams played to a 10-10 tie by the first media break of the contest, Fort Hays State used an 8-0 run to turn a one-point lead into a nine-point lead at 25-16 before a Hillcat 3-point field goal snapped the run. Between the 3:00 and 1:00 marks of the first half Lucas Hammeke hit back-to-back 3-point field goals to push a six-point lead to 12 for the Tigers, their largest of the first half, before they went into halftime with a seven-point lead of 34-27.
Rogers State scored the first basket of the second half to cut the lead down to five, but over a two-minute span between the 18 and 15-minute marks the Tigers went on a 9-2 run to push their lead to 13. Following that run, the Tigers kept their lead in double figures all the way to the 1:00 mark when it dipped down to nine. But, a pair of Kaleb Hammeke free throws pushed it back up into double figures for good.
Grill led the Tigers in scoring for the evening with 20 points, just one off his career high of 21 set earlier this season. He played all 40 minutes of the game and did nearly half of his damage at the free-throw line, where he was 9-of-10. He added a 3-of-6 effort beyond the 3-point line. Grill tied his career high in rebounds with seven.
Davis and Shaun Riley each scored 13 points for the Tigers, while Kaleb Hammeke stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points alongside a team-high nine rebounds and five assists. FHSU's starters combined for 61 of the team's 74 points, while Lucas Hammeke provided eight points off the bench.
Fort Hays State shot 42.3 percent from the field and nearly matched the percentage beyond the 3-point line at 42.1 percent (8-of-19). Both teams hit 22 free throws in the game, FHSU going 22-of-28 and RSU going 22-of-27. RSU finished at 41.3 percent from the field overall, but the Tigers held the Hillcats to just 3-of-15 beyond the 3-point line.
Fort Hays State dominated on the boards, outrebounding RSU 34-21. The Tigers held a 13-3 advantage in second-chance points after pulling down 10 offensive rebounds and holding the Hillcats to just one offensive board. FHSU committed just five turnovers, which tied its season low.
Anthony Marshall, Jr. led the Hillcats with 16 points, followed by Jabryn Anderson with 14 and Caden Fry with 11.
UP NEXT
Fort Hays State will face Central Oklahoma on Saturday in Edmond. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Hamilton Field House. The Bronchos have won two straight, now 10-8 overall on the season and 4-5 in MIAA play.